The field of the present disclosure relates generally to networks and, more particularly, to systems and methods for using augmented reality functionality to display computer-generated elements to support service activities.
The term “augmented reality” (AR) generally refers to a view of a physical, real-world environment of a viewer where certain elements in the view (or AR view) are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound, video, or graphics data. The computer-generated (CG) elements may be purely computer-generated or generated using a real-world object that is in the viewer's physical environment or is remotely located from the viewer. The CG elements are superimposed onto the viewer's physical environment to create an augmented reality as distinct from the viewer's physical reality. In some implementations, the viewer will use an AR display device to see the AR view. AR display devices may include glasses, goggles, head-up displays (e.g., on a car windshield), or the like. Additionally, a viewer will often have one or more optical instruments, such as cameras, for recording or capturing images of the viewer and the viewer's environment. These cameras may be used to record the viewer's movements for later viewing or transmission.
Many known systems that use of AR are quite limited in their actual use of AR functionality. For example, some known AR-using systems are limited in their ability to present CG elements that have been tailored specifically to the viewer. Some other known AR-using systems are unable to present CG elements that can be used by the viewer for a defined purpose (e.g., to mimic the CG element or to gain usable information from them). Some other known AR-using systems are unable to present continuously updated data from a remote source. For example, these known systems can only present preset CG elements and cannot update them in response to, for example, a remote object or person that is the source for generating the CG element(s). Other known AR-using systems are limited in the ability of a viewer to interact with the CG element. For example, these systems do not provide the ability for a viewer to interact with a CG element such that the CG element updates its appearance or causes an update to the view in the viewer's AR display device.
In addition to AR systems, there are also computer systems that are virtual reality (VR) based computer systems. VR-based systems are different from AR systems that the user's view is entirely computer-generated. VR-based systems may cause safety concerns in certain activities (such as servicing customers in a restaurant environment) where the total immersion in a virtual reality environment may decrease situational awareness and cause injury.